ALAN D. BECKER, 49, of Vancouver, Washington, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to Possession of Child Pornography. BECKER and prosecutors will recommend a ten-year term of imprisonment and lifetime supervised release when BECKER is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle on January 12, 2009.

According to the criminal complaint filed in May 2008, on November 20, 2007, a Vancouver Police Officer was called to an apartment complex on East 5th Street in Vancouver. At the manager’s apartment the officer encountered a woman who said she had been assaulted by her boyfriend, ALAN BECKER. BECKER had left the apartment complex. The woman invited the officer into her apartment and explained that she had had a fight with BECKER, and that at one point he had grabbed her by the hair and ripped the phone from her hand and broke it in two to prevent her from calling 9-1-1. The woman alleged that BECKER had child pornography on his computer and on various disks. The woman provided the computer and the disks to the officer. BECKER was arrested later that night on the domestic violence charge.

A review of the computer and materials taken from BECKER’s home revealed 448 images of child pornography and 475 movie files of child pornography. Some of the pornography was obtained over the internet via peer-to-peer file sharing programs.

BECKER has a 1983 conviction in Oregon for third degree Rape involving a child under 16-years-old.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion.

For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110.